Chapter 156 High-rank Mages’ Feud

At that moment, the gaunt male mage who had been keeping his eyes closed suddenly opened them and ordered the hundred or so Fourth Tier Mages to begin their assault. He himself quickly prepared a spell and, disregarding the usual protocols among mages, swiftly launched an attack toward the opponent.

'Silent Wail,' a high-tier interference spell that affects the caster's mind, slowly took shape in the air under the gaunt mage's preparation. Dozens of skulls formed an ethereal mist, which, under its master's command, emitted a series of mournful howls as it dispersed, flying toward the Gray-robed Mage and encircling him while continuously emitting low, eerie wails to disrupt his spellcasting. He then began preparing another spell.

Shaoke remained unaware of his surroundings, consumed once again by rage and panic due to the Gray-robed Mage's defensive barrier. He believed that if the Gray-robed Mage hadn't been holding back, the protective spell over the viscount would have been switched to an offensive one, blasting him to pieces before he could even sense the spell's fluctuations.

For his third-tier spell, Shaoke still chose Lava Ray. The crimson beam, along with the focused attack spells from the other Fourth Tier Mages, arrived at the Gray-robed Mage's location almost at the same time. However, the mage abruptly vanished from his position, reappearing in mid-air as he continued casting spells and engaging the Blue-robed Female Mage. The spells unleashed by Shaoke and the others were consistently deflected or evaded by the Gray-robed Mage, who relied on his immense mental power, mana, or minor interference spells.

Azure spears floated out from the golden book resting on the female mage's chest. Under her command, they swiftly flew toward the mage still encircled by three golden rings and burst apart upon arrival, forming various small nets that descended upon him.

Meanwhile, the gaunt male mage let out a series of piercing, dry cackles. He repeatedly cast interference spells—sometimes of different types, sometimes mental attacks—which indirectly slowed the Gray-robed Mage's spellcasting and put him in greater danger. On several occasions, due to the gaunt mage's interference, the Gray-robed Mage had no choice but to take the brunt of the Fourth Tier Mages' focused attacks to evade the Blue-robed Female Mage's binding spells. Fortunately, the golden rings provided formidable defense, remaining intact despite the impact of the lower-tier spells.

Watching the Gray-robed Mage floating higher, putting more distance between them, Shaoke accelerated his spellcasting. Eventually, he even cast the newly acquired Green Flame Manipulation. Several green flames shaped like Blue Rhombus Flowers floated in the air, eventually swirling around him. Using Ancient Magic Tongue, Shaoke found it somewhat difficult to control the spell, primarily because he hadn't yet learned the true language for this spell—the ancient magical tongue—and had to rely on this proxy language for chanting and control.

Once the incantation ended, the green flames spiraled into the air, merging into a single, massive Blue Rhombus Flower. Under Shaoke's control, it swiftly descended toward the Gray-robed Mage.

Fully expecting his spell to hit its mark, Shaoke was taken aback when, after a mere glance from the Gray-robed Mage, the spell veered uncontrollably off course, crashing into a nearby residence and exploding. Several unfortunate guards were struck by the green flames, which began to burn them. Of course, Shaoke wasn't the only one causing accidental harm due to spell misfires; most of the spells from the hundred or so Fourth Tier Mages also landed in the courtyards of nearby nobles or merchants, inflicting a fair amount of damage. Naturally, this wasn't something Shaoke and the others were concerned about at the moment.

As the battle dragged on, after some violent surges of magical energy erupted outside the fortress, the Gray-robed Mage seemed to receive some message. He quickly disengaged from the Blue-robed Female Mage and flew out of the city. However, his departure was already too late. Shortly after leaving the battlefield, he was intercepted by several mages floating in the air, each wearing robes of different colors.

Surrounded by the group, the Mage Guild mage had no choice but to slowly descend to the ground, then shrugged to signal the end of the conflict.

Following the Blue-robed Female Mage's gesture, Shaoke and the others ceased their largely ineffective spell attacks. Shaoke glanced at the vanished stone wall and, ignoring the presence of the high-rank mages, quickly prepared a Scorching Ray, piercing the viscount's skull. Only after a cavalryman confirmed the death did he finally relax.

"Mage, if you truly wish to spar with us, I suggest you choose a combat-oriented mage, not one who has successfully specialized as a Ward mage," an aged voice came from an elderly mage clad in white robes, cutting off the Gray-robed Mage, who had been about to speak following the viscount's death. "I believe it's time for you to leave now. I don't know what you intend to do here this time, but I do know that staying after your companions have departed is a fatal mistake—one that will cost you your life."

Surrounded by several Eighth Tier Mages, the Gray-robed Mage from the Mage Guild hesitated, then decided to compromise further. "However, the death of a noble is not something an officer or a mage can decide," he said, glancing at Shaoke. "If you continue to use the incident involving a Third Tier Mage as an excuse to hunt down nobles loyal to the Empire at this time, I believe you will pay the price for such actions."

"Leave now, or I will kill you," a somewhat irritable shout came from a red-robed mage floating in the air. "I've had enough of coming out at irregular hours at night to examine the dead. Leave immediately, or I'll kill you right here." As he spoke, the red-robed mage forcefully waved his staff, causing several small crystal shards to float out from a magic bag at his waist, forming an eight-pointed star formation in the air. He appeared ready to attack at any moment.

Faced with this situation, the Gray-robed Mage glanced at the white-robed mage, then nodded. After surveying the mages surrounding him, he abruptly ascended into the sky and swiftly flew out of Bloody Fortress.

After the Gray-robed Mage departed, the newly arrived mages nodded to the Blue-robed Female Mage before quickly dispersing to various corners of the city, where they would resume their interrupted rest or magical experiments.

The battle in the residence had ended. Numerous corpses were discarded on the streets, while nearly a hundred women were tightly seized by the cavalry, placed on horseback to be dealt with according to regulations.

Under the officers' orders, cavalrymen swiftly and meticulously collected the late master's hoarded wealth, categorizing and preserving it carefully, as a portion of it would serve as their reward for the night's battle—something they couldn't afford to mishandle.

The gaunt black-robed male mage looked at the corpses on the ground and, after receiving instructions from the Blue-robed Female Mage, had the soldiers select a few to bring back to him. The rest were dragged away by the cavalry to burial sites.

Everything proceeded swiftly and orderly. Shaoke watched the officers busily directing the cavalry in gathering valuables and the Blue-robed Female Mage standing silently with her eyes closed, unsure of what to say. Finally, the Blue-robed Female Mage broke the silence. "Return to your barracks. There's nothing more for you here," she said, then added, "The nights aren't safe these days. You should focus on practicing your spells in the barracks instead of wandering the city at this hour." Without allowing Shaoke to respond further, she waved him away.

Back in the barracks, Shaoke repeatedly reflected on the night's events. He hadn't expected that the relatives of the mage he had killed in the barracks would seek revenge after such a long interval.

Still shaken, he opened the chest containing the military rewards and retrieved several magic items, storing them in his pouch. After preparing these items, he began meticulously recording the night's events in his spell record, detailing the battle scenes from memory.

Once finished, he began meditating to pass the time. As for the broken staff, he planned to report it to the military department the next day to obtain or purchase a new one.

The following day, before Shaoke could report the previous night's events to the military department, a Third Tier Mage brought him a new staff and collected the broken one. The mage informed Shaoke where to replace damaged staves in the future and urged him to quickly master the spells he had learned, as his first mission assignment wasn't far off. Of course, this timeframe was relative to Third Tier Mages, as transcribing spells alone could take up to six months.

In the days that followed, Shaoke never returned to the city walls at night. Instead, he wrapped himself tightly in his cloak, held his staff, and sat in the tavern at the spot where he used to converse with Roman the Female Mage, silently watching the newly arrived mages freely display their charms.

As time passed, some mages Shaoke was slightly familiar with gradually left the fortress for various reasons. According to a female mage who had recently advanced to the Fourth Tier, she would return to her legion, serve there for a period, and then make new choices.

During this time, the Third Tier Mage who had replaced Mage Roman, along with several Second Tier Mages Shaoke had seen before, approached him for discussions. The Second Tier Mages listened attentively to every question he raised about spellcasting, meticulously recording the details for future reference, much like how Shaoke had once sought guidance from Mage Roman.